Just Don't Talk To Me
by holidaysfromreality
Summary: A break-up can have more behind it than one would normally think.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first multi-chapter fic, something I never thought would happen. I'm not really going to say much about what inspired it, but the next chapter's author's note will include how this story came about.**

**Also, I want to thank my brand new beta, the wonderful and amazing Miranda, (aka fioncat36). You should go read her stories and follow her on tumblr and generally just worship her for being so awesome. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. **

"I kissed Mike."

In that moment, Artie Abrams was almost sure that he had stopped breathing. He was pretty positive that his heart had stopped, too.

Today was supposed to be a happy day for them. Tina had arrived home from the camp she works at every summer mere hours ago. They had been waiting weeks to see each other and were suppose to meet up tomorrow to spend an entire day together. But Tina had called and insisted that they needed to see each other immediately. Of course, he agreed, because he had missed her terribly over the last few weeks. Not only had his girlfriend been absent, but also his best friend. And it sucked.

He'd been expecting her to run up the front walkway and jump into his lap and kiss him. In any case, he had been sure that she would be insanely happy to see him, like she always was. But instead, she was distant and shifty until she finally dropped the bomb on him.

After what seemed like hours of him just staring at her in disbelief, he finally said, "I forgive you."

The change in her eyes was almost immediate. From distant to…angry, "Dammit, Artie! Why can't you stand up for yourself for once! Once!"

Artie cringed away from her words. Ever since he was little, he had had a fear of confrontation. He had never enjoyed being yelled at by his older sister or his parents, but it got especially bad after the accident. Every time someone raised their voice, it rang loud in his ears like the impact of the other car hitting theirs'. Whenever he heard people arguing now, he had to start singing something in his head and pretend he was somewhere else.

His parents used to argue. A lot. About money and doctor's bills that were causing them just scrape by on all their other bills, and their opinions of how they should go about helping their son adapt to his new lifestyle.

His father was of the opinion that he should get a feel for his chair and his new life more independently. He didn't want his son to be unable to take care of himself when the time came. He knew the conversation so well that he could barely count to one before his mother would say, "Artie is _eight,_ Richard. And he needs me. I _refuse _to let him do this on his own."

Artie knew that they only had the best for him in mind when they had these conversations. Neither of them had faced anything like this before. They could deal with bumps and bruises and failing grades and a million other things, no problem. But this. They didn't know what to do. He knew the emotional toll the accident had put on his family.

For most of his post-accident life, his family would be his only allies, up until he joined glee club.

In his opinion, his parents marriage was stronger than ever. He hadn't heard them have so much as an argument as to what to have for dinner in years. And when they did, it was nothing but playful. His mother laughing, "You're such an idiot," to his father was almost a term of endearment between them.

He truly believed that this was just a bump in the road for him and Tina. He reasoned with himself that she had probably been lonely at camp and didn't want to tell him. Things happen. He understood.

Or at least, he tried to.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?" she asked. He thought for a moment, "Of course you don't. You don't have anything to say unless has to do with yourself."

"I don't know what you want to hear," he told her finally, "Do you want to me to yell at you? Or storm off? I forgive you. I just do."

He couldn't really explain it. He wasn't particularly happy about this whole situation, but he couldn't bring himself to angry at Tina either. But she was acting as though he was saying to her: _You cheated on me? Great! Fantastic!_ He just wanted to get past this and move on.

Despite the fact they had their disagreements, he still loved her.

She sighed, "Why do we keep doing this, Artie? We should be able to fall in love and keep falling and have it be this never ending cycle of falling. But it's just…stopped. We've hit the ground."

"Why does that have to be a bad thing?" he asked, "Why does being comfortable in our relationship mean that we've…hit the ground?"

"That's the point, Artie. This means two completely different things to us. Maybe…maybe you being so calm about this is proof it's not working."

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it. He was able say after a few moments, "Are you breaking up with me?"

She didn't even skip a beat as she said, "Yes."

He pressed his lips together as his heart skipped a beat, then started up faster. He didn't have a sarcastic rebuttal or a tearful good-bye speech. He wasn't going to call her names or say that he could do better than her. He just turned around in his chair so he was facing the door. He didn't want to look at her. "If that's what you want."

He didn't turn around until he knew she was gone.

Once she was out of Artie's line of sight, Tina decided that that was the hardest lie she had ever told.

First of all, she hadn't kissed Mike.

It started a few months back, when Tina's grandparents came over for dinner and met Artie. Of course, they had been cordial to him when he was in the room, but the second he left, his grandfather had chided her over the fact that Artie wasn't Asian. "You're disgracing our family," he had told her, "What do you think our community will think when they know?"

Her grandfather was extremely traditional in this sense. He always brought up the fact that her mother was only half-Korean and he absolutely refused to be nice to her maternal grandfather, who was not Asian. To him, Tina didn't have to be smart. She didn't have to know how to cook the meals that his mother cooked for him in Korea. But God forbid her boyfriend wasn't Asian. All hell broke loose.

She had tried to insist that Artie was a sweet boy who really, really loved and cared about her. That was what mattered, right? But her grandfather's opinion had been made. It was like a giant elephant in the room every time she saw her grandparents. He would always ask, "Are you dating that _Polish_ boy." It was worded like a question, but never asked like one. Always a statement.

"Artie is Welch, Grandpa. There's a difference. But yes, I am still dating him."

"They're all the same, aren't they?"

The decision had to end this cycle eventually been made for her, by her parents. They told that she had until the time she got home from camp to break-up with Artie.

Tina knew that the fact that she and Mike Chang were put in the same cabin as counselors was no coincidence. She figured out fairly quickly that he was attracted to her. And wasn't it convient? The grandson of her grandfather's best friend just happened to end up working at the camp she had going to for years?

She fought her parents orders tooth and nail every single time she talked to him. It was hyprotical of them to do so, because this same argument had happened to them when they were dating. They hadn't taken the easy way out then, but now they were. Because they got what they wanted. And she had to suffer.

She hid her distress from Artie, because she didn't want to worry him about something that would most likely just blow over.

Of course, it didn't. She made her decision when her parents told her that they wouldn't pay for college and make her quit glee. With college, she could get a scholarship. She could get a few part time jobs. But glee, that was irreplaceable. The feelings it gave her couldn't be duplicated. So she agreed to break-up with Artie.

She tried to remain as calm as she could as she made her way up the stairs. Her mother asked her what she was doing and Tina told her that she was going upstairs to call Mike. She noticed the satisfied smile on her mother's face as she walked away.

She didn't know what she was thinking, exactly. She was dying inside from what she had done. But she called Mike and she set up a date for the next day.

The haze of what she had done began to fade when she actually did kiss Mike. Because only then was what she had told Artie not a lie.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi. I said I would say what inspired this fic in this chapter. When it was first announced that Tina/Artie wouldn't be together at the beginning of the second season, my immediate reaction was, "I bet her family doesn't like him because he's not Asian." And it kind of snowballed into this from there. Not a huge eurka moment, but it's kind of a nice story, right? **

**I want to thank Miranda, my beta, once again. I butchered her username last time so. FIONACAT36. There. I think I did it typo free. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. **

Although Artie wasn't sure whether or not he was suppose to know about Tina and Mike, he still did. He was thankful that he had found out prior to the first day of school. It didn't really give him time to accept it—he didn't think he ever would, because you never truly get over someone you love kissing another guy, and then dumping you when you didn't want to roll over his toes—but it was better hearing about it rather than having to find out by seeing them together in a crowded hallway.

It was Kurt that told him, after he'd lured Artie out of his room with promises of seeing whatever action flick he wanted at the three dollar theatre. His friend tried to tell him as gently as he could, but it was a known fact that Kurt didn't have a gentle bone in his body when it came to these kinds of things. He told it to you straight and didn't sugarcoat anything to protect your heart.

There was no "hey, did you know" at the beginning. It was just, "Mike and Tina are going out now."

Going to the movies with Kurt was the only time he left the house between the break-up and the first day of school. He knew he shouldn't have gone out, because it only ended up making him feel worse about life. He had been perfectly content staying home and watching movies on pay-per-view.

The day it happened, the heartbreak didn't set in until after Artie had gotten inside, and in his room. It had been a long time since he'd cried and even longer since he'd cried over Tina. It wasn't sobbing, just two thin streams of tears running down his cheeks as he rammed himself into the wall. Once, twice, and then three times before he stopped. Three was the limit—anymore and one of his parents would come to down to his room to see what was wrong. If he limited it, they would just think one of his wheels had gotten stuck on a corner.

He laid his forehead against the door, reaching up and throwing off his glasses, tossing them someone in the room. He put his hands over his eyes, trying to stop the tears.

A few hours later, his mother entered his pitch dark room, turning on his bedside lamp. She picked his glasses up off the floor and put his wheelchair back into the correct position, because he had been so frustrated that he just pushed it over. She sat down on the edge of his bed and placed her hand on his elbow. His other arm was thrown over his face. "I don't want to talk right now."

"Honey, what happened? Did you and Tina have an argument?"

"She kissed another guy and she broke up with me, okay? I really don't want to talk about it because it's over and I can't change it."

His mother merely covered him with a blanket and kissed his forehead before turning the light back off and leaving him by himself. She knew how to deal with heartbreak—she had been through it herself and she could barely count on two hands how many times Artie's older sister, Ali, had come home claiming that her heart would be broken forever because of some guy.

She didn't force Artie to do anything for an entire week. She let him stay in his room and do what he wanted, as long as he wasn't being destructive. She would mostly find him flipping through photos of Tina and himself on his computer, his hand over his mouth as they got closer to the present.

But after that week, she tried harder to get him to leave his room. To have dinner with her and his father. He would mostly pick at his food before excusing himself. He started watching movies in the living room to please his mother, but she could tell that he wasn't totally there. She would sometimes have to call his name three or four times to get his attention. This wouldn't have worried her before, but now, it was different.

She tried to get him to go out to the store with her, but he always refused. The desire was just…gone.

On the first day of school, Artie knew that it was going to be tough. He usually liked the first day back, but he was dreading it this year. He tried not look at them as they passed the handicap entrance to the school, where he was now making his way through, but it was hard not to stare. They was something so…uniform about them. They just fit, with the looks, the way they walked, with their smiles.

Mike was able to hold her hand when he walked down the hallway with her. His hands weren't occupied by a wheelchair at the most inopportune times. That might have been what bothered him the most. Mike could do all of the things that he couldn't. That he wished he could do.

Artie was the first person to arrive to Mr. Mulligan's third period History class. He had to come from across the school, and his second period teacher let him out a little bit early, so he could get there without being trampled. He was greeted and asked his name, which he provided, even though he already knew that the teacher probably knew his name. Teachers always knew his name.

He was quite the hot topic around the water cooler.

He wheeled to the spot in the back row with no chair, which he knew was his place. He watched his other classmates enter the room with limited interest. That is, until Tina walked in.

Her hair was a bit wind-blown from running across the school from her last class and she was out of breath. Artie immediately ducked his head down so he didn't have to look at her. He didn't want to look at her, he didn't want her to sit by him. He didn't want to have to deal with that.

Tina scanned the room with her eyes, quickly figuring out that the only plausible place to sit was next to her now ex-boyfriend. She didn't want to be that girl, who sat between two groups of friends, and would constantly get dirty looks from them because she chose that place to sit.

She took a deep breath and walked up to him, tapping his shoulder, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

The look on his face reminded her of the day she told him that she'd been faking her stutter, "It's a free country."

His words stung her. She hadn't expecting him to be so…cold. Not only was it unlike him, but she hadn't thought he would act this way after the way he'd reacted to their break-up. Artie didn't have a mean bone in his body and this new side of him was shocking to her.

It only took about twenty minutes for Mr. Mulligan to finish his spiel about the course and spout off everyone's names like he'd been studying for a test. He told the class to spend the rest of the class period getting to know each other and they'd start the real work tomorrow. _Great_, Artie thought.

Tina looked from the desk to Artie every so often, trying to to work up the nerve to talk to him. Finally, with only three minutes left in the class, she said, "I've been meaning to talk to you…I really did mean to tell you before now. That it got serious with Mike, I mean."

"It's not my business."

"Yes, it is," she replied, "I want to be friends again, Artie. You're my best friend. You know that, right?"

The rest of the class was starting to crowd around the door and Artie took this as an opportunity to move away from the table. "See, that's the thing about break-ups. They make everything else null and void."

She tried to process his words and come up with a response, but she could only stammer out, "What?"

"I forgive you for kissing him while we were still together," he said, "But everything else, like how you forgot about all the things we've shared, and how I was willing to move on after you cheated on me changed everything. Maybe you don't get it, Tina. _You broke my heart._ And I will never forget that. Especially if we're friends again."

As the bell rang and he began to roll away, she grabbed one of his handles, effectively stopping him. "Artie, wait. Please."

He removed her hand from his chair in a surprisingly gentle manner, but his voice held more ice than she had ever heard in it before, "Just don't talk to me."

Tina had never been more thankful that she'd opted to have a study hall than that moment. She had convinced herself beforehand that her first encounter with Artie would have gone better than this.

She went to her study hall's classroom and immediately got the bathroom pass, stumbling her way to the choir room. The tears were already burning in her eyes, threatening to escape.

She was relieved to find the choir room empty of people. It seemed that, besides when it was inhabited with glee clubbers, no one was ever in this room. She put her bag down on the ground as she dropped down onto the piano bench, no longer being able to hold back her tears. She laid her head against the piano's fall board.

Finn Hudson happened to be on his way to see Miss Pillsbury so he could switch out of U.S. History when he passed the familiar music room. He could hear quiet sobs from a few feet away, so he poked his head in to see if someone was actually there, or if his mind was just playing tricks on him.

When he figured out that someone was really in there and it was Tina, he was at a loss. He didn't know how to breech the situation. His girlfriend, Rachel Berry, was emotional, but not in the same way that Tina was. Rachel cried, but she wasn't set off as easily as the quiet girl Finn now felt an obligation to help since he had found her like this.

Tina reminded him of his mother, in some ways. Carole Hudson's tear ducts were connected to pretty much every emotion she possessed and sometimes Finn would walk into the living room to find her crying over a bank robbery or someone winning the lottery. She also cried when Finn got an 'A' on his report card for the first time in years last semester. Over time, he had gotten quite good at being consoling.

He thought about what he would want right now if he were a girl. Would he be pleased to know that someone had seen him this way but just left him? He thought about all the things he had learned during the Madonna assignment about being nicer to the girls in glee. That made up his mind.

He walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Um, are you okay?"

Tina looked at her fellow glee clubber behind her and only sobbed harder, the tears blurring her vision. Finn panicked, unsure as to what he should do. "Hey, don't cry. What happened? Do you want me to find Artie?"

Upon hearing his name, she let out an anguished cry. Finn was alarmed by her hysteria. Had someone hurt her so badly that she didn't even want Artie? "Tina…?"

"I lied to him. I ruined everything," she coughed out through her tears. Her seemed confused by her statement and she just couldn't hold it in any longer. So, she told him everything. About how her grandfather thought she was disgracing the family by dating someone who wasn't Asian and how she lied to Artie in an attempt to get him to break up with her.

That had been her original plan. To tell him that she kissed Mike and get him angry enough at her that he would do the hard part, the actual act of breaking up, for her. And when he said he forgave her, her heart melted and died a little at the same time. So she picked a fight with him, knowing he hated conflict.

She explained to Finn that it was even worse, because now, her actions caused her to be in the situation where she was now the girlfriend of a really nice guy who had just got caught up in a huge web of lies. She didn't like Mike in a romantic way, like she knew that she should. She would hate herself even more if she hurt his feelings too.

When she finished, Finn pondered what she had said for a moment. "And you didn't tell him the truth…why?"

"Artie wouldn't have let that happen…he would have fought them on it, in his way. Let's just put it out there, Finn. Artie isn't all that intimidating. My family would have eaten him alive."

"Lying was _really _the only option?"

His questions made her actions should even worse.

"It was the only way."

"But look at yourself, Tina," he said, motioning to her, "You're not happy, are you? Don't you remember how happy you were at the beginning of the summer?" He ducked his head so they were eye-to-eye, "And Artie's a nice guy. He would have understood eventually, if he saw how much this was stressing you out. You guys would have been able to come up with something that worked. You guys are like…Romeo and Juliet. That's what their names were, right? Except I bet Artie's parents love you. And even though you're kind of emo, I don't think you'd ever kill yourself over a guy."

Finn wasn't nearly as naïve as he let on. People always thought he was dumb merely because he had a very simple approach to life. Try hard not to mess everything up. Respect people, even if it's hard. Eat your vegetables.

The way he didn't filter or sugarcoat his opinion about this situation kind of scared Tina. No one, not even Artie, had been this honest with her.

Everyone wanted to protect her heart.

Until today.

Artie had worked so hard to protect Tina from the world that he never thought about himself. He should have been worrying about protecting himself from her. She had lied to him, ripped his heart out and stomped on it. She broke him. She broke every tie she had to him. She had been able to fix her mistakes with him before, but now. She didn't know if that was possible. She couldn't possibly repair what she had done to Artie's heart.

"Can I ask you something?"

She sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

"What were you expecting from Artie when you told him you wanted to be friends again?"

She was a little taken aback by his question. She pressed her lips together for a moment, not sure what to say.

It was a completely valid question. What had she been expecting? She thought, at the very least, he would have been a little nicer to her. Or at least, faked it. Maybe he would have given her a smile, even if there wasn't an light behind it. He would have attempted to make it seem like everything was okay with him, even if it wasn't.

She hadn't noticed it immediately, but it was clear to her now. Their should have been hurt in his eyes when she spoke to him that first time. Or anger. But his eyes were just…empty. She killed him. Not physically.

But inside. There was nothing there.

Almost to herself, she whispered, "What am I going to do?"

Finn picked up his backpack, "Telling the truth would be a good start."

Luckily, Tina and Artie didn't cross paths again that day. Artie saw her briefly as Mercedes pushed his chair into the lunchroom. That was usually Tina's job and he tried not to get distracted by the noticeable difference between the style that his friends pushed his chair.

She looked happy, he could tell. She slung her backpack over a chair between Mike and Finn, smiling at something one of them said. Finn squeezed her shoulder as she sat down. Mike kissed her on the cheek then and he had to stop looking.

Tina, on the other hand, made a conscious effort not to look over at the table she knew her friends were sitting at. Because if she did, she would surely start crying again, and the reaction of these macho football players and cheerios would be much different than her glee club friends. She was out of her element here. So she sat quietly, picking at her lunch, and occasionally answering questions about her summer that were tossed at her, mostly by Rachel Berry.

It should have been a relief to have another girl from glee there, but she just wasn't in the mood to go through the mental work-out that was talking to Rachel.

After school, she got a ride home with Mike, "Did I do something wrong?"

"What?" Tina asked, lost in thought, "Oh. No. Of course not."

"You've just been really quiet…I thought I did something."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, you were really buddy-buddy with Finn earlier," he said, turning on her street, "I thought that maybe you were talking about what I did wrong."

"I can't talk to my friend?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

"That's not what I said. I just…are you okay?"

"The first day back wore me out, that's all," she told him as he parked in her driveway, "My mom will probably want to talk about today. I'll call you."

She clutched her books to her chest as she got out. She could already feel that her eyes were puffy from crying and she just wanted to go upstairs and be by herself. Finn had given her his number—well, Kurt's, since they were still living together—and instructed her to call him if she needed anything. She appreciated the sentiment, but didn't plan on using his offer anytime soon.

Tina put her keys on the table in the foyer as her mother came into the entryway, a plate and a dishrag in her hand. "How was school?"

She could hardly look at her mother these days, after what she had made her do. Tina glared at her as she threw her bag on the floor and began to stomp up the stairs. Just before she disappeared from sight, she said, "You know what? Just don't talk to me. Ever."


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm amazed by the reaction to this story. I was a little afraid that people wouldn't get it, especially in the beginning._

_I have a lot of people to thank this time around. First, as always, I want to thank Miranda, my beta. She gets my chapters looking pretty and is always timely and she's becoming an amazing friend._

_Next, thank you to everyone who sent in song suggestions for part of this chapter when I put out a call for one._

_And finally, to everyone that has reviewed, favorite, or put this story on alerts. I thank you all as well._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the songs included in this chapter. **

It wasn't long before it was difficult for Tina. When glee club started having regular rehearsals again, she was seeing Artie far more than she was before, and it was harder for her to just ignore him. And it wasn't even ignoring him. If he was, in any situation, to give her the time of day, she would be pouncing him with apologies and maybe even the truth.

But that was in her head, of course. The scenarios were perfect and always had a happy ending. In the real world, she knew that there was a possibility that Artie would never forgive her, whether he found out the truth or not.

She didn't want it to get the point where it wouldn't be resolved until they were too old for it make a difference.

Tina didn't want to show up at some twenty-five year reunion and find out that she had missed her chance. She didn't want Artie to be the one that got away, as cliché as that was.

It was a naïve thing to say, she knew. Very few high school romances pan out in adulthood. But people had said since day one that she and Artie were like an old married couple, much more content to just be with each other than go out and act like people they weren't. What if they would have been an exception to the current rule of high school sweethearts?

She saw him every day in their history class, but thank God, the teacher had made up a seating chart and put her up front, far away from him. She never even had to look at him.

No one said a word about the break-up between Artie and Tina. Most of them got the memo from Kurt or Mercedes or they saw it for their own eyes when they saw Tina and Mike together on the first day of school. Everyone knew that the break-up was a sore subject, especially for Artie. Even the most dim of the glee clubbers could see the way they avoided each other these days.

They didn't exchange a glance and a smile when Tina got her first solo of the year. They didn't high-five when Artie successfully completed his first one-wheeled, triple turn.

Their first assignment for glee was to come up with a song that described where they were in their lives at that point in time. Mr. Schue reasoned that, despite the fact that they had had an assignment like this in the past, a lot can happen in three months.

Artie knew that better than anyone.

When they were given this assignment last spring, he'd had no problem picking a song. He'd sang Jason Mraz's "Lucky" and Tina had done Neutral Milk Hotel's "I Love How You Love Me." Song choices had been easy for them. Everything is easier when you're in love. When the only thing you feel is adoration.

But Artie…he wasn't really sure how he felt, most of the time. It switched off from hurt, to angry, and back again, and to a million other emotions. It was worse when he was in the same room with her. Sometimes, he just wanted to pull a Rachel Berry and storm out of glee club when things got tough. Sometimes, he thought about what it would be like if he just quit.

He never went farther than just a moment's thought about that. It was hard for Artie to be there, yes. He realized this was show choir and you had to be at least a little spirited to be there, but he loved it too much to quit. He refused to let Tina take that away the only thing that made him feel good about himself.

Sometimes, when he was singing with the glee club, he forgot about everything. Forgot that when the song was over, things would go back to the way they were. When the song ended, Tina would still be with Mike.

The day after the assignment was given out, Artie asked if he could go first. He had gone home last night and things had just happened. The ball just started rolling.

He wheeled himself to sit in front of the classroom and retrieved his guitar from its case. Everyone was watching him with interest, because they hadn't seen Artie be this forward about anything as of late.

"_I know a thing about constriction, because I've got enough to spare." _

Artie often wonders what he could have done different to make things work with Tina. He had gone through their entire relationship in his head, wondering at what point she gave up and decided being unfaithful wasn't all that big of a deal. She got to have him, but she could always get what she needed in him on the side, with Mike. Did he not pay enough attention to her? Not stop and hold her hand enough? It was things like these had kept him awake at night, questioning all the things that he thought he had done correctly.

_"And I'll be granting your permission 'cause I haven't got a prayer. And I'll say hey, hallelujah, come on sing the praise, let the spirit come all through you, we got innocence for days!" _

Maybe there was something about him that just wasn't enough her. He didn't have enough experience; couldn't do enough. She said, time and time again, that his physical condition hadn't made a difference. But based on how long she had been able to get away with faking a stutter, Artie knew that Tina was a pretty good actress.

Was he too naïve? Too innocent? Was he not the garage band king to her punk rock princess?

He saw her hand clasped with Mike's in the same position they used to hold each other's hands. It made him angry inside and in turn put more passion into his singing.

_"Well you think I'm gonna burn in hell? Everybody burn the house right down and say, what I wanna say, tell me I'm an angel, take this to my grave. Tell me I'm a bad man kick me like a stray, tell me I'm an angel, take this to my grave." _

That was the problem with Tina. First, she's telling him that he's self centered and won't fight for her, and all the other things that are wrong with him. Then, the next time he sees her, she's going on about how he's her best friend. He's not hot and cold like her.

Sometimes, he thinks about giving her a call. And telling her that nothing has changed and of course he wants to be friends again. But then he remembers—she cheated on him. Sure, a kiss in fairly innocent. But what if she hadn't told him for another week? Another month? He imagines how much farther they could have gotten than he had with her. What would have stopped her from just keeping it a secret? Artie didn't consider himself much of a catch.

Tina could do better than him. And she did.

"_You can play ring around the ambulance like you never gave a care. So get the choir boys around you, it's a compliment, I swear." _

Artie saw her palling around with Finn all the time. When she wasn't with Mike, of course. She used to share all of her secrets with him. He used to know everything about her, as it happened. He knows all of her hopes and dreams and what kept her up at night.

She's completely jumped ship. She used to be too nervous to even approach Finn or Puck or any of the the cheerios. But now, he rarely sees her without one of them by her side. He passed by her locker once to see Santana helping her with her hair. Stuff like that wouldn't have happened when they were together.

She rarely spoke to Mercedes and Kurt anymore. She left everything behind.

Like last week, Mercedes insisted that she, Kurt, and him go to the mall, get some dinner, and go to the movies.

Kurt had gotten a pretty good rhythm for pushing Artie's chair. He didn't like to be stopped suddenly and Kurt didn't make him feel like he was going to be rammed into something or someone at any moment. He didn't replace Tina, who instinctually knew this, but it nice not having to wheel himself constantly.

And who did they see as he was being wheeled into Barnes and Noble? Tina. With Rachel Berry. And they were laughing.

"Mercedes! Hey! Over here!" Tina called, "You guys have to see this. Look at this dress."

"It's absolutely hideous," Rachel added.

"And that's coming from you," Kurt said, looking her outfit up and down from over the top of the magazine.

The four of them spoke for a few minutes, while Artie focused on the shoes of his friends. He didn't want to be there. He knew she was ignoring him. And in some ways, he also knew she was respecting his wishes, but at the same time, he wanted her to try to get him to talk to her.

"Well," Rachel said, "we must be going. We're meeting Mike and Finn in ten minutes."

Tina smiled and nodded in agreement before bidding her friends farewell and running off with Rachel. Since when had they suddenly become friends? Artie understood that they weren't hanging out anymore, but why she have to drag Kurt and Mercedes into this? He knew that Mercedes and Tina hadn't had a sleepover in months. Kurt had stopped talking about dance parties with her and Brittany.

Did she think he was such an ass that he couldn't share the friends that they both had?

He didn't know. But as he continued to play and finish his song, he could see the shock and concern on everyone's faces.

After glee was finished for the day, Artie's mother picked him up as she always did. She lowered the ramp so he could wheel in and secured himself into the spot where the passenger seat should be as she began to drive. He had his arm rested against the window, looking out at nothing in particular.

"Artie?" his mother asked. He turned his head toward her, "What would you think about seeing Dr. Cooper again? Just for a little while."

Dr. Cooper had been Artie's therapist pretty much since the accident. For a long time, it had been just an off-and-on sort of thing—he went as he needed to. Sometimes, he would go religiously for months at a time, and then it would start to dwindle to the point that he would stop going altogether. The last time he'd gone was months ago, after the whole dancing debacle.

He shrugged.

His mother turned out of the school parking lot, "I worry about you, Artie. You used to be so full of life and now…you just don't have that light in your eyes, honey. When was the last time you had any of your friends over?"

"So I wouldn't have to go back to Dr. Cooper if I had my friends over?"

"Artie," she sighed, "You know what I mean. I know you and Tina didn't end on the best of terms…"

"She cheated on me."

"I know she did, but listen," she said, "You're a smart, handsome boy…maybe if you started putting yourself out there again…"

"So you're saying I should whore myself out?"

"Don't use that word," she replied immediately, "And that's not what I'm saying. But maybe if you started going to church with us again…"

"Mom, I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but…I just can't right now."

Tina thought about Artie's performance for most of the evening. That night, Rachel came over to hang out. She never would have thought that she would be friends with her, but lo and behold. Rachel was surprisingly easy to get along with now that she was with Finn. He had really mellowed her out.

They were working on homework when Tina asked, "What did you think of Artie's song today?"

"I wouldn't have pegged him for a…Romance Chemical fan…"

"My Chemical Romance," Tina interjected.

"Yes, anyway. I wouldn't have pegged him for that type of music. And he was a little bit off-key, but I suppose to someone without perfect pitch like myself, it was pretty good."

Sometimes Tina wondered if Rachel was aware of some of the things that came out of her mouth.

"He sounded so angry."

"Artie seems to have a lot of pent up anger. Maybe he should be seeing someone about that."

"I just…I feel bad."

"Well, you shouldn't. You need a man that will give you everything you want and more. You said it yourself—Artie only wanted to watching 'Coming Home' and never took your feelings into account."

"Well…that's not all true." She thought of the day she had failed her history exam and Artie canceled going over to play video games with all of the glee guys to watch movies with her and sit with her while she cried.

Sometimes, she didn't give Artie enough credit. He had a lot of faults—but he knew her better than anyone else. He could say things that made her feel more special than she ever has. And she gave it all up.

The next day, Mr. Schue came into glee club and called the rehearsal to order, "Alright, guys, I have our first duet picked it out. You guys said you wanted more unknown music this year and I listened. How does Alphabeat sound?"

"Ten-thousand Nights of Thunder?" Tina asked, looking quickly to Rachel, smiling widely, "I love that song!"

"Well, that's good," Mr. Schue said, leaning over the first row to handing her the sheet music, "because you're singing it. With Artie."

Artie's mouth dried up at the announcement, "But Mr. Schue…"

"You should be happy, Artie," he said, handing him the pages, "This is a really big solo. This is on the short-list for Sectionals right now."

"I can't sing with her," he said quietly.

Tina pressed her lips together. She had heard what he said, even though he had said it quietly, probably so she wouldn't hear him. It was a perfectly reasonable reaction from him but…she had been wanting to have an opportunity to talk to him.

Mr. Schue put the rest of his papers down on the piano, leaning his back against it, "Look, guys, I didn't think I would have to go through this. But I can't help what goes on in your personal lives. Artie, you're singing the song with Tina. You have to check whatever issues you have at the door. That goes for all of you."

"But…"

"It's final."

**Quick note: I chose "House of Wolves" by My Chemical Romance and Doodles357 on Tumblr suggested "10000 Nights of Thunder." **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi. So here's the next chapter. I don't really have a whole lot to say about. **

**As always, thanks to Miranda, who beta'd. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee **

It was hard for Tina to feel anything remotely romantic when she was kissing Mike. There was just no spark there for her. When his lips were against hers, she often wondered if this was how actors felt when they were kissing someone they weren't attracted to. She always struggled to have regular reactions—open her mouth at the right time, move her hands as she should. With Artie, she only had to make sure that she wasn't going to lose her balance and fall over. Or worse, push his chair into a wall or something. But he made the rest of her entire world disappear.

Tina used to ponder sneaking out of class to meet Artie in some dark closet. But Mike…she honestly felt bad not being more attracted to him. He was handsome, sure. But he was kind of like every actor splashed across a teen magazine: the appeal was obvious. The thing about Mike was that he wasn't Artie. His hair wasn't as soft as her former boyfriend's. His eyes weren't that beautiful crystal color that she had grown so used to gazing into. Artie had a hidden appeal. You actually had to get to know him, know his past, his secrets.

Mike, arguably, had a better sense of fashion than Artie, but that was because he owned about two plaid shirts and a cardigan that he interchanged every few days. She thought about the sea of grandpa sweaters in Artie's closet that were ugly to the eye, but so soft and comforting to the touch. She had loved when he'd wriggle out of one of them and let her wear it. It would always smell like him. Clean and boyish. Mike just smelled like Axe.

And of course, Mike could walk. He could hold her hand when they strode down the hallway together. But with that, she felt more vulnerable. She didn't have Artie's chair to cover her anymore. It was weird, but walking behind him, she felt like she was a part of him almost. She never felt that way holding Mike's hand.

When Mike's lips moved away from hers and down to her neck, she tipped her head back slightly and said, "I have to get home."

After a moment, he lifted his head and nodded, "Do you need a ride?"

"No," she shook her head, getting up and pulling her bag over her shoulder, "I think I'm just going to walk."

He kissed her once more, quickly, before she gave him a slight smile and began to walk toward the school's parking lot. She never used to take a car to and from school, but Mike almost always picked her up these days. Despite the fact that she could get a ride from any number of people or just drive herself, she found a certain solitude in walking. She could be alone with her thoughts as music pumped into her ears through her headphones.

Upon arriving her, she unlocked the door and kicked off her shoes as she hung her jacket up.

Her home life was not perfect, like it appeared to be. It never really had been to begin with, but now it was worse than ever. Everyone was well aware of Tina's opinion on them, because she made it very clear. People often thought she was quiet, but then again, they hadn't seen her outburst at the dinner table last month. She wasn't happy with the way things were and she would probably never forgive her parents for making her do this. Because of that, they mostly left her alone these days, unless her grandparents were over. To them, her and Artie's demise was a natural thing; it just stopped working one day. Her grandfather didn't do much to hide his delight, while her grandmother offered a gentle pat to her hand, which wasn't all that comforting.

Tina went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea—which Rachel recommended because working on a duet was more pressing on one's voice than a solo, in her opinion—and something to eat before taking it up to her bedroom.

She flopped down on her bed, taking a sip of the warm liquid from her mug before putting it down on her bedside table. She covered her eyes with her hands. She had been trying her hardest to avoid thinking about Artie when she was with Mike, but it was becoming impossible. Everything Mike did, she could think of something Artie did better. She missed him. Every day wore her down a little more than the last, because the weight of all her lies were becoming more tiring to deal with.

Over the course of the evening, she picked up the phone multiple times to call Artie. If they were going to do this duet together, they would need at least a few hours to practice it outside glee club. Rachel had told her she and Finn practiced nearly fifteen hours on top of what they did during rehearsals for "Faithfully." She and Artie would need at least a bit of time to work.

It was hard for her to be excited about getting to sing one of her favorite songs when her partner wasn't thrilled about the arrangement.

Tina could admit it wasn't the most comfortable of situations.

Even though she had been wanting to talk to him. When she saw him at the mall with Kurt and Mercedes, she almost thought about asking him if they could talk for a minute. But it was too hard for her in front of other people. It had to be completely private, from the proposal of talking to the actual act.

Instead of calling Artie, she dialed a number that had now become familiar to her. "Yeah?"

"Finn?"

Finn had eventually given Tina his cell phone number, after she told him how awkward it was to call Kurt's house, have Kurt answer, and have to basically crush his dreams when she had to tell him that she wanted to talk to Finn and not him.

She just couldn't talk to them. Kurt and Mercedes. Because if she did, she knew she would break down and tell them what she did. And they would tell Artie, even if it was just by accident. And there was always the chance that they would hate her for what she'd done.

They could never understand what a huge sacrifice this was for her.

"Uh-huh," he replied. He sounded distracted and she could hear the sounds of a video game in the background, "What's up, Tina?"

"Do you think it's wrong of me to be excited about the solo? I mean, that'll give me an opening to talk to Artie, right?" The video game paused.

"You have every right to be excited, I guess," he replied, "But he might just sit there like a mute."

"Do you really think that?" she asked.

"Well, you did break the guy's heart and bruise his ego. Because, as far as he knows, you cheated on him with a guy that can do everything he can't."

"God, don't remind me," she groaned, falling onto her back and pulling a pillow over her head.

Don't get her wrong, she did like Mike. He was a sweet guy and could make her laugh and her family liked him a lot—how could they not? He fit the Asian criteria—but he just wasn't Artie. Mike didn't have the ability to know what she was thinking when she didn't say anything. She couldn't have movie nights with him, because he talked during all the best parts. She couldn't imagine telling him all of her deepest, darkest secrets. And she definitely couldn't have foot-versus-wheelchair races down the hallways after glee club with Mike.

Being in a relationship with Mike just wasn't the same as being in one with Artie. It was like a chocolate substitute. It was okay for a while, but pretty soon it doesn't cut it anymore.

It was difficult to look at someone like Artie, someone you adore, and see how much you've hurt them.

Sometimes, she would see him smiling. Usually when no one was really watching, like Kurt and Mercedes would start with the friendly banter during lunch. Or when they'd poke fun at him to get him out of his funk.

"Let's put it this way," Finn said, "How would you feel if you were being forced to work with someone who broke your heart? He probably thinks you're going to hurt him again."

"How am I ever going to get him to agree to practice?"

"That, I don't know."

Tina groaned. If Finn didn't have a solution—vague as he is sometimes—then this was more serious than she thought.

Artie had a stomach ache over the getting the duet with Tina. There was a part of him that was genuinely excited, because this was the type of thing that usually went to Rachel and Finn, but he would have been more enthused about it if it had been four months ago. Now, the idea of being in the same room with Tina without the padding of the rest of the glee club put a lump the size of a rock in his throat.

He had been doing a pretty good job of avoiding her. But now, interaction was inevitable.

He heard a knock on the door and he lifted his head slightly, "Yeah?"

His older sister, Ali, entered the room. She was twenty years old and was basically a carbon copy of her brother, except she had a more sporty build than he did, from years of volleyball. She was home from Ohio State for the week, much to Artie's delight. He loved his sister's company. But he knew that she hadn't been expecting to see him this way. He hadn't seen her since June, before all of this stuff started.

She leaned against the doorframe, "We're about to have dinner, Art."

"I'm not hungry."

She stepped closer to him and tugged on his hand, "Come on, you're always hungry. Mom ordered pizza. Your favorite."

"I'm not feeling well," he insisted.

His sister sat down on his bed, pulling his legs into her lap, using them as a blanket. She smoothed out his khakis. "Tell me what's on your mind, little brother," she said in that soothingly, sisterly tone of hers, "Mom told me about what happened with Tina."

_Damn her_, Artie thought to himself. His sister was curious, he knew, but he didn't really want to tell her. He used to tell Ali everything about him and Tina, but he really didn't want to start something he knew would end badly. Ali would rip Tina to shreds with her bare hands if she knew he'd been cheated on.

Ali was a firm believer that Artie wasn't allowed to be stepped on by people because of his condition.

"Is that what has you upset?" she asked, "Tina?"

"I have to sing with her. And I _really_ don't want to."

She pressed her lips together, "Artie, what have I been telling you for years?"

He sighed and looked away from his sister, up at the ceiling, "Make the most out of every situation in life."

"So, maybe you should give Tina a chance."

"I am not having this conversation right now," he told her, moving to sit up and transfer himself into his chair, "I'll have dinner with you guys."

"That's more like it," she smiled, "Gonna give me a ride?"

He grinned despite himself, "Not a chance."

He felt a little better with his sister there. She took his mind off of everything else.

Tina clutched her books to her chest as she walked up to Artie's desk before History class. She took a deep breath as he looked up at her—his eyes seemed to have more light in them than usual, and she hoped he as in an agreeing mood. She took a deep breath, "Look, I know this isn't an ideal situation for either of us, but can we just put everything aside for a couple hours and practice the song? Maybe you could come over to my house tonight…?"

"I can't."

Those were the first words he'd said to her in weeks.

Her mouth opened, then closed, "But…it's Friday. You never do anything on Friday."

"My sister is town. We're hanging out."

"Oh. Okay. Maybe next week." She ducked her head and went to her seat, putting her head against her books.

She knew what she had to do. Somehow, she had to find a way to lure Artie to her, for something he would really want. The thing about him as that he was constantly losing his gloves. He had about twelve pairs, but he always had to buy new ones because they were something he genuinely needed. She'd seen his hands when he didn't wear them for just a few hours.

After school, she had Mike drop her off at the local department store. She went back to the sporting goods department and found a pair of biking gloves in the signature yellow color Artie always wore. She paid for them and walked home, ripping open the package as she went.

Once in her driveway, she found a patch of dirt and threw the gloves down in it, then stepped on them, rubbing them into the ground. She had to make them dirty.

She went into the house next, putting them in the washing machine and sending them through the dryer. She examined her work when she was finished, admiring how worn out they looked. They could really be Artie's.

As she made herself dinner, she dialed the Abrams phone number, hoping a certain person would answer. This part of her plan was harder than the first.

"Hello?" _Jackpot._

"Ali, hi," Tina said, closing the refrigerator door, "It's me, Tina."

"Oh, hey," she replied, a hint of recognition in her voice. Tina probably knew more about Ali than Ali knew about her. They'd only met in person once and that was months ago. Before she and Artie were an actual couple, "Artie told me about your duet. Congratulations. Is that why you're calling?"

"Well, yes and no," she admitted, "I found a pair of Artie's gloves at my house and I figured he would want them back, since he's always losing them. I was going to give them to him when we practiced, but because you're in town, he didn't want to tonight."

"We're just going to the movies," Ali said, "We could go to the later show if you wanted to practice for an hour or so?"

"If Artie doesn't mind…" Tina said nonchalantly, but inside she was celebrating that her plan was working thus far.

"I'll drop him off at the school in an hour. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I live just around the corner."

As Tina headed out the door to meet Artie, she was convinced that nothing about this could go wrong.

An hour later, Artie was in the car with his sister, fiddling with the radio when she turned in the opposite direction of the movie theatre. "Ali," he said, hesitantly, "Where are you going?"

"Just have to make a quick stop, little brother," she replied, turning into the school parking lot.

"Ali," he gave her a look that clearly said _I'm not doing this._

"Please, Artie? I knew you weren't going to do this on your own. Besides, she has a pair of your gloves. Mom will kill you if she finds out you lost another pair."

"We're not going to the movies until I do this, are we?"

"Nope," she replied.

"And you're not going to leave?" he asked.

"Of course not," she said, turning off the car and pulling a book out of her purse as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

He sighed and rolled himself backward as she pressed the button that put down the ramp.

Inside the school, Tina was waiting near the choir room. It was quiet, but she could hear the faint rumblings of a basketball game being played a few hallways over. She looked up to see him wheeling around the corner. Once he stopped in front of her, she said, "Hi…" She looked at her feet for a moment, "Um, these are yours."

She handed him the gloves. He examined them for a moment before pulling off the ones he was wearing and attempted to get his fingers into the pair she had given him. "You must have been seeing a lot of guys that wear biker's gloves, because these aren't mine."

_Damn,_ she thought to herself.

He shook his head, almost as if he was answering some question in his head, "I can't do this."

He turned to leave. Tina made a move to chase after him, "Artie, wait! I'm sorry!"

She stopped when he did, but he made no move to turn toward her, "Somehow I don't believe that."

He wheeled himself a few more feet away. "I lied to you!"

That made him stop and turn around, "What?"

"I never kissed Mike," she said, her voice shaking, "Not while we were together, at least."

His expression changed to something softer than she had seen it in so long. He whispered, "Then why did you do it?"

"You…you wouldn't have understood."

"You wanting to see other people doesn't seem like that much of stretch," he said, not looking her in the eye, "I can't do all the things that Mike can."

"That's not what it's about…God, Artie, why can't I just tell you? But I know that you wouldn't get it."

"Why do you keep being so vague?" he asked, "What was so bad that you couldn't have told me?"

"My grandfather decided he didn't like you because you weren't Asian. He said I was disgracing our family and our heritage. And whatever he says, goes. My parents said that they wouldn't let me stay in glee if I didn't break up with you…and I was so scared that I didn't know what to do."

"So you lied to me? You put me through hell for two months because you were scared? And what now? You think I'm just going to say: Oh yeah, Tina, of course I forgive you."

"No, Artie, but…I love you..."

"No," he said, "Just stop, Tina. Okay? Do you even think about things before you say them? You told me that I couldn't stand up for myself and you know what? This is me doing that. And you said I care too much about myself. But if I let myself fall into this trap again, then that wouldn't be caring enough."

She stood silent, watching the ground as he threw the gloves down in front of her, racing off. She covered her face with her hands, already feeling her eye make-up melting as the tears fell her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She fell back against the wall behind her.

She wanted to die right there in that hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

**So, here's chapter five. I'm really excited for everyone to read this. **

**I finished the last two chapters just today and they'll be posted within the next few days. This story has been so. Much. Fun. **

**It's becoming increasingly harder for me to express how much I want to thank my beta, Miranda, for all that she does. **

**Also, thank you everyone that has reviewed. They really make my day. *coughyoushouldreviewcough***

**Finally, the song used in this chapter is called "This Song Is About You" and it's by Joseph Birdsong. I suggest you go live it a listen. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.  
**

Even though he knew it wasn't the smartest idea to wheel himself around without any gloves on, he didn't stop until he was all the way outside and down the wheelchair ramp. His hands were already aching from the speed he was going. He struggled to get his gloves back on as his hands shook from the pure emotion spilling from him. His eyes were already burning with angry tears.

How could she_ lie_ to him? Not only had he been her boyfriend, but also her _best friend_. They never kept secrets from each other before. He could understand not telling him something simple but this was without a doubt the hugest thing to affect their relationship, ever. She took something that should have been discussed between both of them and kept it a secret. Made it all about her. He should have had a say in how things worked out.

Artie would admit that he didn't always tell the truth either, but he would _never _do anything like this to Tina. He would never knowingly hurt her this way. He thought of all the nights he hadn't been able to sleep, because his mind wouldn't thinking about what he could have possibly done wrong to make Tina stray from him.  
All for nothing. All that pain was because of a lie.

And there was so many people _he_ had hurt because of this. He can't count how many times he blew off his mother to wallow in his own pity. Or when he closed himself off from Kurt and Mercedes because he couldn't build up the strength to get out of bed. So many people tried to listen and continued to stand by him when he didn't deserve it. No one deserved to be treated the way he had treated his friends and family the past few months.

It was because of Tina. Her selfish act made him push everyone away.

He could see in her eyes when she told him that she was convinced he'd forgive her. That he would say: _Oh, it's okay, Tina. I forgive you. I love you too._ But he couldn't bring himself to do it. The words used to constantly be on his tongue, prepared for when she would say _something_ to him along the lines of "I made a mistake." He had spent the past two and a half months thinking if she told him she loved him again, he would tell her he felt the same way. If she wanted to take him back, he would let her.

But when it actually happened, he couldn't find the desire anymore. It was just…gone. That adoration for her that had never really faded since the break-up vanished. Now, he wasn't hurt anymore. He was _angry_.

As he got back to the van, where his sister was waiting, he pounded his fist against the side, until the door opened and the ramp lowered. He rolled in and buckled his seatbelt. His sister looked up from her book. "Did you forget something?"

"Take me home. Now."

Ali raised an eyebrow at him, "What about the movie?"

"Take. Me. _Home_."

He really didn't want to lose it here. He wanted to go home so he could scream into his pillow and write more of his deaf poetry jams and calm down.

She sighed and marked her place in her book before putting the car in gear and pulling out of the parking space. She wanted until they were back on the main road to ask, "What happened, Artie?"

With that, he snapped. His voice was sharp as he said, "Why did you make me go in there?" He was gradually getting louder, "Why couldn't you have just stayed out of this?"

Artie used to hate arguing. He used to hate confronting other people and saying what he really thought. The fear that used to come with it was fading fast, after standing up for himself with Tina. It almost felt good, like a weight was being lifted from his shoulders. No longer did he have to smile and act like everything was okay. He could yell and hit things and be furious. He growled, "Did you even _think_ about what I wanted? I didn't want to see her! I didn't want to talk to her! I wanted absolutely nothing to do with her! And you forced me in there!"

His sentences were short and choppy. The anger was coursing through his veins and he couldn't stop it now. The camel's back had been broken, the floodgates were open. "Why does everyone think they can push me around all the time! Because I'm a damn wheelchair? I'm still a person! And I thought my own sister would know that!"

Ali chewed on her lip, "Artie, I'm sorry."

"No, you're not! You don't mean it. No one ever means it!"

"What did Tina say to you?"

"_Don't say her name!"_ he snapped.

She didn't say another word to him, even when Artie continued to shout at her. She knew her brother well—and this was the first time he'd yelled at her, at anyone, in a long time. He was so much more internal than people thought—he took so much out on himself and the fact that he was finally blaming someone else, even if it was her, was a step.  
In the last eight years, he had been through so much, with fitting in and with adapting and with Tina and so many other things. He never didn't have a smile on his face, until now. The façade had finally come down.

People would say to her when she still lived at home, _your brother is an inspiration_. She used to think so too, but…was he, really? He was just good at masking all the problems he faced. To be inspiring, you had to do something extraordinary. Artie just lived. Tried to live a normal life, despite everything. These past few months were a testament to the fact that being in a wheelchair didn't save him from all the heartbreak in life.

It wasn't really a matter of whether he was inspiring or not. It was whether or not Artie _wanted_ to be inspiring.

When they pulled into the garage, Artie wheeled himself inside immediately. He slammed his bedroom door shut behind him.

He then went on a triad he had only seen before in movies. He ripped books off his shelf and whipped them across the room, the pages bending as they hit the floor, and ripped photos into a million pieces. He threw the clothing in his closet behind him haphazardly, not caring what his shoes hit and broke. Within ten minutes, it looked like a tornado had hit his room. He could barely wheel over the mess.

He transferred himself to his bed and fell back against his pillows, suddenly exhausted. Sleep came quickly, but every time he came back to the surface of consciousness, he remembered what had happened just hours before.

In some ways, he knew that he should be…happy. He hadn't been cheated on. Tina claimed to still love him. But everything else she had said and what had happened pre-confession overshadowed that.

He just couldn't forgive her. Not after he had felt that constant ache in his chest every day for _months._ He wanted her to feel some of the heartsickness he had.  
Artie didn't come out of his room for the rest of the weekend.

Tina, on the other hand, couldn't stay in one place, or do one thing, for more than a few minutes for the duration of the weekend. She should have felt better with the truth out, but telling Artie really only made the situation worse. She was convinced that it would have been an enormous relief not to have to lie anymore, but seeing the anger in Artie's eyes and hearing his words proved that theory wrong. Two days after the fact and just thinking about the conversation in her head stung.

It was like a slap of reality to the face.

People aren't always going to forgive you. They're not always going to understand.

She went jogging a lot on Saturday and Sunday, just to keep herself moving. Even when her legs began to burn from the strain, she kept going. The pain in her lungs distracted her from the pain in her heart.

She went by his house a few times, just to see what was going on. The house was closed up, for the most part, and his window was always closed, the curtain pulled.

The problem was when she had to go back to school on Monday. She didn't have any distractions. She couldn't bolt when her mind started racing too fast. She was able to get through the first two classes of the day, but she skipped third period all together. She didn't want to see that anger on his face again. She wondered if he even showed up today. Usually, she was always seeing him in the hallways, but today…not once.

Tina chose the choir room as a hide-out, naturally. As usual, no one was there, and she sat down at the piano, playing a few basic scales. Her parents had made her take lessons for five years, but she hardly ever played anymore. She'd recently learned one song she liked, so she began to play that.

"_Endless flights, sleepless nights, how many battles must I fight? The moon is setting, I can't see, the midnight sun is gone for me."_

She hadn't cried about Artie in a long time—there were just no more tears to shed—until late Friday night. The numbness of her guilt faded and all she felt then was devastation. It was an awful feeling, knowing that it was out there. That she couldn't do it over. It used to just be all in her head, completely her problem. And now she really saw what her lies had done. How much they'd changed Artie.

He wasn't the same person. He probably wouldn't be ever again.

Because of her.

The worst part is she knew her parents could hear her. She wasn't exactly quiet about it and "Artie" was the only word laced into her sobs. She hoped they knew what they had caused and she hoped even more that they felt guilty.

_"I can't get you off my mind, it's killing me, it's killing time. The voice on tape is whispering and I cannot stop listening."_

She has album after album of photos of them that she's paged through every night since the break-up. She used to keep them on her bedside table but she's kept them under her bed for the past few months, so she no one else would see them. They're always smiling when she looks at them; they're always happy. She wishes she was still the girl in those pictures. She can see how much color has left her face since then, how little light there is behind his eyes now. You can see how happy he is by the cute way he wrinkles his nose just a bit when he smiles.

And even when they're not smiling, she can see the pure giddiness of love between them. Somehow, they're always touching. Whether their hands are intertwined or their heads are touching or she's sitting on his lap. The connection between them is almost picturesque. Something you can only dream of happening.

It was something she had right at her fingertips and she gave it up. For what?

She watches the tape from regionals when she misses him the most. Her mother had zoomed in close when they're striking a pose during the "Anyway You Want It/Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin" mash-up and the only thing you can see is her and Artie, their heads close, smiling widely at each other. She wonders how her face didn't break in half with that smile.  
She remembers thinking then that that was the single greatest moment in her entire life.

Such a contrast to what she was thinking now.

_"And now I'm left to ponder this alone. It's like an icy wind within my bones."_

She couldn't call Finn after she told Artie. It just…didn't feel right. There was nothing he could have said to comfort her.

And she still went out with Mike on Saturday night, because she thought it would take her mind off things. But when he asked why her eyes were so red, she just claimed she had allergies. And she used a stuffed-up nose as an excuse for him to take her home earlier. Because it was just _too hard_ to be in his presence.

Knowing that his face was the right one, the one her family approved of, but the wrong one for her, was just too much for her to handle.

"_How does it feel to know this song is about you? Does it still hurt you like it hurts me too? Everywhere I look I see the ghosts all around you. It's haunting me, I don't know what to do."_

Everything reminded her of Artie. _Everything._ They seemed to play "Dream A Little Dream" every time she turned on the radio or whenever she put her iPod on shuffle. She was always getting caught behind people in wheelchairs when she was in supermarket. Sometimes, when that happened, she had to resist the urge to come up behind them and grab onto their handlebars. It had almost become instinct: see a wheelchair, push it.

Whenever she saw Artie in front of her in the hallway, even if he was on the opposite end, she would let go of Mike's hand, almost as if she was preparing to start pushing him. When she saw Kurt pushing him at the end of the day, when she knew his arms were most tired, she fought herself not to say, "Excuse me, that's my job."  
_"Never did I doubt our love but sometimes that if not enough, I'm sinking like a ship at sea, the loneliness pours over me."_

Tina always loved Artie. She had since the first time they spoke and had never stopped. She can't count how many times she told her family how much she did for him, and how much Artie did in return. But it didn't matter. It never would have mattered to them.

What if she had just stayed with him and taken the consequence as they came? Would being shunned or chastised been worth it in comparison to this? Would she be happier?  
She didn't have the answer. She never seemed to have the answer. And the right one always alluded her.

She truly thought this would protect Artie from something that was bigger than the both of them. Keep him away from the world she lived in that was so close-minded. They never gave him a chance.

Maybe _she_ never gave Artie a chance. She didn't give him a chance to react to what she mulled over for weeks. She made the decision for him. What if she had told him the situation from the get-go, without the lies? He could have had an opportunity to talk to her family, to prove himself. He was so smart and gentle and polite; maybe he could have convinced them that their was more important things than heritage.

He could have proved to them that love was the most important thing.

_"Reaching upward to light, the end is barely out of sight. You never really let me in, so I know I will shine again."_

When it first happened, she tried to convince himself that a break-up would have happened for them sooner or later. She tried to make herself think that his faults were too much for her to deal with. He didn't let her pick the movies they watched. So what? That had really been more of an excuse for her to curl up against his chest and fall asleep in his arms. Sometimes, he made things too much about him, but did that really matter to her? He pushed everything aside when she needed him most. He could be a little insensitive at times, but he almost always had her feelings in mind.

People expected Artie to be sensitive, because of his condition. He told her once, "I'm in a wheelchair, but I'm still a guy." And maybe she had forgotten that in trying to reason with herself that they weren't right.

She thought about when he told her to dance with Mike in her routine instead of with him. How he said, "You've worked too hard to have half a partner." Maybe she was reading too much into it, but he pushed his own dreams aside so she could have her moment to shine. And she constantly thanked him for that, even if he didn't know it.

_"And it's time for me to say goodbye. It takes a wrong to make it right."_

She thought righting her wrongs would make everything okay again. She thought getting the truth out would allow her and Artie to go back to…something. It didn't have to be boyfriend and girlfriend, not even best friends. She just wanted to be able to look at him and see no heartache.

She decided there that she would never bother Artie Abrams again. She would not put him through any more than she already had.

Tina finished the song on a somber note, getting her bag from the floor. She went through the rest of the day on auto-pilot, just doing the motions but not really feeling them. Artie didn't show up to glee club rehearsal, which made her wonder if he'd gone to class. Was their school life going to be like a child between divorced parents?_ You can go to glee club on Mondays, but I get to on Tuesdays and Thursdays._

She walked home after glee, wondering why there were so many cars parked on the street in front of her house. She unlocked the door to see her mother standing a few feet away. Tissues were stuffed in her hand and her eyes were wet with tears.

Tina furrowed her brow, setting her bag down. She asked in a confuse tone, "What's…going on?"

"Oh, Tina," she said, "I have some bad news."


	6. Chapter 6

**So this is chapter six. No cliffhangers by my definition this time around. **

**I don't really have much to say besides the usual thank you-s. **

**Thank you to Miranda, who helps immensely every single time I finish a chapter. **

**And to all the people who read and review. Reviews seriously make my day. **

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Tina's immediate reaction was: _something's happened to Artie_.

It was a stupid place for her mind to go. But without even knowing what was going on, she convinced herself that some of the football players had gotten a hold of him and sent him up the flagpole again and he couldn't get down. Or he'd gotten hit by a bus. Of course, her mother would have never been this upset about her ex-boyfriend. But after not seeing him at all during the day and then him not showing up to glee club, she was thinking the worst, even though she knew she shouldn't think about him at all.

The actual reason stung just as much.

Last night, her grandfather went to bed as he normally did. The only difference was this morning he didn't wake up.

Her mother explained that they'd found out about an hour after she'd went to school and waited until she got home so she wouldn't worry. He was pushing eighty-five years old, so they were assuming that it was just his time, but the idea of a stroke had been tossed around in the early morning. Whatever the case, he was gone, and the house was filled with distressed family members.

Deep down inside her, in that part of her that was mean and vindictive, she was kind of glad. Because of him and his close-minded attitude, he had put her and Artie through a living hell. But she couldn't bring herself to hold onto all those emotions that had been just below the surface for so long. Because he loved her, in his way. He was only looking out for her best interest—only trying to keep her heritage alive for as long as he could. Even if she didn't think what he did was important or sane, it was a lesson in itself.

In that moment, her mind shut off. Therefore, she couldn't _really_ be responsible for what she did next. She bolted back out the door, running past all of the relatives that tried to stop her, and started down the street. It was cold and she wished she had grabbed her jacket, but it was too late now.

For someone who was obsessed with death—someone who was fascinated by medical examiner shows and murder mysteries—actually facing it head on was absolutely terrifying.

She knew what way she _should _have turned, what was suppose to be the right way, but she went in the opposite direction. It had only taken a few hours to break her promise to herself and she couldn't really bring herself to care. She needed him, not anyone else.

She ran up the Abrams' front steps and rang the doorbell once with no response, then a second time, and finally a third before the hallway light flicked on just behind the window. She held her breath when the door opened—whether to keep from gasping or sobbing, she wasn't sure.

Artie's face went from blank to angry in a matter of seconds. His arms crossed over his chest, "What are you doing here? Did you come to admit to some more lies?"

She had her hands over her mouth to keep from crying. She was biting her palm so hard she was surprised she hadn't drawn any blood. The hysteria was bubbling in her throat, ready to erupt. She let out a strangled, "_Artie."_ The single world caused her resolve to snap. She began to cry violent, shaking sobs in his doorway. No longer able to keep herself up, she crashed into the door jam, sliding to the ground.

Artie wasn't completely heartless. He gazed at her curiously as her head fell against his leg. He noticed almost immediately that she was covered in goose-bumps from the lack of jacket and she didn't have her signature black-messenger bag slung over her shoulder. If she had forgotten those things, then something had caused her to leave somewhere quickly. Without even thinking.

He could tell something was wrong, something far beyond that problems between the two of them. Something that made her forget everything and come straight to him.  
Her make-up was starting to run down her cheeks. And she was shivering from being so cold.

After a minute, she was able to choke out what was wrong. Her grandfather had died last night.

Artie was at a loss for what to do. He had never really experienced anything like this before. Both sets of his grandparents were alive and well, the pictures of health, living in plush condos in Florida. He could only assume how jarring it was, especially for someone as emotional as Tina. However mad he was at her, however much he wanted to push her away, he had to set all of that aside for a while. He couldn't think of sending her away in this wounded state. He could only imagine the kind of trouble she could get herself into.

Artie really didn't want to care. But he did anyway. He couldn't help it.

The vindictive part of him wanted to tell her to go cry to her boyfriend. The words were on his tongue when he had first opened the door, but when she managed to choke out his name and the floodgates opened, and she was crying harder than he had ever seen her before, he couldn't send her away. That would just be cruel.

"Tina, come on. Get up," he said gently, finding her hand and tugging on it. He let it go quickly once she had gotten the message. He had to hold in a surprised breath when she sat on his lap, her damp face burying itself into his neck. He wasn't exactly sure what to do, so he wheeled them into his room, which had been cleaned up since his outburst on Friday. The only evidence of what had taken place being a large crack in his mirror and a lack of pictures on the walls.

"Hop up," he said, reaching around her to pat his bed. She moved to sit on his bed as he rolled into the bathroom, finding a box of tissues, and getting a blanket out of the hall closet. When he returned to her, she was still crying, with no signs of stopping. He offered her one of the issues, but when she didn't take one, he pulled one out of the box and wiped the smeared make-up from her cheeks himself, then wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

She leaned forward, eased her face onto his shoulder. Only then did he touch her, giving her a gentle pat on the back, then rubbing his palm in a slow circle. She climbed back into his lap after a few minutes, after the position she was in became uncomfortable. Her hand came up to rest against his chest, the other joining it.

"It's…um, it's okay," he murmured, "Everything's gonna be okay."

He couldn't think of anything more soothing to say. He was trying his best.

It was completely normal when your ex-girlfriend comes to you, looking for comfort when she has a perfectly capable boyfriend a few blocks away to do this job.

She didn't respond, a fresh wave of tears spilling forth from his words.

He didn't say much after that, instead deciding to let her cry herself out for a while and then talk. When the tears had subsided, they were silent for a few minutes, their only movement being her hand rubbing up and down his chest, scrunching and un-scrunching the fabric of his shirt. He tried to lighten the mood, joking, "Knowing you, I thought you would have come to drag me to go poke the body with you or something."

She smiled even though she knew she shouldn't. His statement was so horrible that she couldn't help but find it a little bit funny.

They were silent again for a few more minutes before Artie asked, "Why didn't you go to your boyfriend?"

His voice was light because he was trying so hard to be conversation about it. Because he was genuinely curious about it, but the moment he finished the sentence, she stood up, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. The blanket around her shoulders dropped to the floor.

"You're…you're right. You're right," she mumbled, even though he wasn't exactly sure what he was right about. She pulled her shirt sleeves down so they covered a little bit more of her arms and started to walk out of his room. She stood in the doorway for a moment before opening the door, "I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry I bothered you."

With that, she jogged down the front ramp and the driveway, before disappearing from Artie's line of sight. Without even a second thought, he grabbed his key from the bowl next to the door and made sure the door was locked before following after her. He rolled down the ramp, yelling, "Tina!"

The problem was that she was already too far in front of him for her to hear him. He continued to chase after her for the three blocks between his house and hers until he was wheeling in front of her house. The cold air of fall was whipping at his face, but he couldn't stop. He knew that he should have, though.

The _turn around you idiot_ message finally became clear when he ran into something stable. He assumed he'd just gotten off course a bit and hit a tree or a stray bike left on the sidewalk, but he looked up to see that he had ran head on into Mike Chang, who was now rubbing his calf.

Tina was standing on the porch. She looked from Artie to Mike, then back to Artie before bounding down the steps and running into Mike's arms. He kissed the top of her head and whispered something in her ear, which she nodded to.

To anyone else, it was clear who she chose. But not to Artie, who could see Tina's eyes staring straight into his.

Not wanting to break their moment or maybe just to save himself from more heartbreak, he started down the street.

Tina watched him go, wishing he had stayed. Or at least said something before he went.

Mike held her head against his shoulder and said calmly, "I know you still love him."

She pulled back to look at him, "What? No."

"You don't have to lie," he replied, "I always kind of knew. I saw all the signs—you know, how you looked at him and how you'd let go off my hand when you'd see him."

"Mike…I'm so sorry," she said finally, looking to the ground, "I just…you deserved so much better. Look at you, you're not even mad at me."

"Hey," he said, lifting her chin with his finger, "We were fun while we lasted, didn't we?"

She gave him a small smile, "Yeah."

"And we're still friends, right?"

"Of course."

"Then we're good," he said, "Maybe we weren't right. Lots of people try to be together and they just don't fit. I'm not mad at you for loving Artie because I've accepted that we just weren't right. But you and Artie…what if you were, all along? It would kill me if I broke up a couple destined to be together."

"We shouldn't be having this conversation," Tina said with a biting laugh, "It's just too weird."

He shrugged, "But what if I'm right? Then what?"

"I'll make sure you're invited to our wedding. We'll name our first born after you or something."

"Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good deal." They laughed and seeing that this was the end of their conversation, their break-up, whatever this was, he kissed her forehead gently and said, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," she replied, "Later."

She went back into the house, shutting the door behind her. She leaned her back against it, wondering why that had been so _easy_. It was almost comforting to know that Mike had known that whole time. And that he was almost…doing her a solid. He made it so her grandfather left this earth knowing that Tina was, in his skewed view of the subject, honoring her heritage.

She wasn't expecting the break-up to happen like this. She didn't want to cry; she felt like it was the right time for them. Sometimes, things just have a natural ending.

Tina didn't go into school the next day, mostly from pure exhaustion—her house hadn't quieted down enough to sleep until after one and then her mind wouldn't shut off until well after three—and also because funeral preparations were in full swing. It was being held on Friday and her mother insisted that they needed help around the house, but really Tina just sat on the couch, listening to her parents make phone calls to various friends and family, breaking the bad news.

She didn't hear from Artie again all week but Rachel had informed her that he'd shown up on Tuesday for glee club. Her friend also confirmed that Artie _hadn't_ come to school the day before, which was probably why she didn't see him.

Most of the glee clubbers found out through Mike about her grandfather. He was almost family to her—their grandfathers being best friends and all—so she didn't mind. She got many condolence texts, which she responded to as they came in. It wasn't like she had anything better to do.

The sting of the death made her body go cold whenever she thought about it. She used to want to know what death was like, sometimes even wishing for it when things got tough, but now, she couldn't dream of it.

She couldn't imagine leaving her family or her friends behind. Or glee club.

But especially Artie. She could never think of leaving him.


	7. Chapter 7

**This is the last chapter. Wow.**

**I was saying last night on Tumblr that this is weirdly bittersweet for me. The ending of this story was natural and planned for most of the writing. This is truly how I wanted things to turn out. I don't think I could have milked any more chapters out of this story if I wanted to.**

**But that doesn't mean I won't miss writing it.**

**As I always do, I want to thank Miranda. Without her, this story would have probably been a hot mess all the way through. She knows how much I appreciate her help and support.**

**And I have to thank every single person who has read. Whether you've read one chapter or all of it. Whether you've reviewed or not, I appreciate it all.**

**I would say I'm going to take a break after this whirlwind of a story, but that's not true. My next story is going to called "The Modern Leper" and the first chapter will probably be posted in the next few days.**

**If you want updates on what I'm writing or you want to hear me talk about Glee and much, much more you can follow me on Tumblr. I'm holidaysfromreality there as well.**

**Finally, the quote used in this chapter was made by Helen Keller.  
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**Alright, I'm done being all sappy. I'll try to hold it in. Now, on with the show.**

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The entire house was up early the morning of the funeral. Though the Cohen-Chang's house wasn't that big, a lot of the family members that traveled for the service were staying on air mattresses in various rooms around the house. Thankfully, no one had been assigned to sleep on Tina's floor. Despite that, she was still up at seven in the morning. The house was positively buzzing with pre-funeral jitters.

The children in the house, who she could hear running around in the living room just below her, were playing some kind of game involving animal noises. She wished she could be as naïve as them. They didn't know what death was and therefore, this occasion was just a chance to play with their cousins.

She pulled her hair back into a ponytail so she could look at least halfway decent when she went down in search of food and tea. Just as she was about to leave, her door opened. Her father set a tray with a pancakes and a bowl of fruit on it, a glass of orange juice perched in the corner, and a teacup on the other side. "It's probably best if you stay up here," he told her, "It's a mad house down there. I almost lost an arm trying to get you those pancakes."

A smile formed across her lips, "Thanks, Dad."

Her father sat down on the bed as she did as well, "How are you feeling about all this?"

"It hasn't really sunk in quite yet."

"I was surprised when you didn't go running off to see Artie since…" His sentence cut off right there.

"I went to see him after I found out," she admitted, picking at one of the pancakes with her fingers, "I don't really think that anything is going to happen there."

"We, your mother and I, want you to know that we're sorry. We shouldn't have made you do something that we were guilty of as well."

"It's okay," she said, smiling sadly, "I think…I think it was good that I was with Mike, for a while. It was kind of fun while it lasted." Her father raised an eyebrow, "The other night, before his parents came over."

Mike's family had come over every night this week to help out where they could, but Mike himself had yet to show. She didn't blame him, really. However good of terms they ended on, it was still weird. Awkward.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she assured him, "Mike…he always knew that my feelings for him would never be as strong as the ones I felt for Artie."

"We just want you to be happy."

"I know," she said, "I've learned from all this that sometimes things just have to take a detour. Maybe Artie and I will never be the same, but…maybe the same wouldn't have worked for us."

Her father didn't say anything about that, but did offer a smile, "Well, I have to get back downstairs. Can you be ready to go in an hour?"

She nodded as he left the room. The day of closure had begun.

Tina ate while sifting through her clothes for something decent to wear. Sure, a lot of her clothing met the black dress-code that most funerals required, but she felt like most of her dresses and skirts were too short for this occasion. She finally settled on the skirt she wore for the "Dream A Little Dream" number and a short sleeved ruffle top. She pulled her clothing on slowly, making sure everything was in place perfect before putting on a coat of red lipstick and light eye make-up. She knew most of it would melt off anyway over the course of the day.  
The limousine rented to take them to the funeral only held ten, so it was just her and her parents, her uncle plus his wife and their four children, and Mike's grandparents. The car ride to the funeral home was nearly silent, except for the rare observation between long pauses of nothing.

Upon arriving, Tina didn't really know what to do, so her mother told her to sit down next to the guest book, and have everyone who entered sign it. It seemed like an easy enough job.  
Mike showed up with his parents after she had been sitting for about half an hour. While his parents went off to find hers, he stood in front of her, somewhat awkwardly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

"Everyone in glee misses you," he told her, reaching into his jacket's inside pocket and pulling out an envelope, "We all signed this for you." It was a simple sympathy card with her friends names written around and under: _I am so sorry for your loss_. The envelope also contained eleven index cards, all of them filled with a message from each glee club member.

"This is really, really nice, Mike," she said, putting all the papers back in the envelope and stowing it with her purse, "I'll have to text everybody and thank them."

"You don't have to. They know."

"I will anyway," she told him, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him in a hug, "Thank you for coming."  
"Our families have been best friends for generations. I kinda had to."

"Yeah, well. Still. Thanks," she said. She looked over his shoulder to see Artie, of all people, wheeling into the funeral hall.

He looked nice—put together. He was wearing straight black pants and a suit jacket. She knew, because it was Artie, that he was probably wearing suspenders underneath, where no one could see.

Mike touched her shoulder, "You should go over there."

"I'll see you inside," she said, smiling.

He nodded at her and quickly jotted his name down in the guestbook before going inside to sit with his parents in the second row. The rows were beginning to fill up now.  
Tina walked over to Artie and said, "I wasn't expecting you to come."

"I wasn't either, really," he admitted, "But Kurt told me that it was today and…I just felt like I should. I figured you could use a friend here."

She gave him a half smile, "It's nice to see you."

Her eyes darted to the bouquet of flowers sitting in his lap. "Here," he said, holding them out to her, "These are for you."

"They're gorgeous, Artie. Thank you."

"They all mean something," he said, "The aloe is for grief and the bay leaf is for strength. The zinnias mean thinking of an absent friend, but I think it works for an absent family member too. And the forget-me-nots are for memories. The roses are for love, but mostly they're just there because they're pretty."

"You knew all that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him with a small laugh.

"Well, no," he said sheepishly, looking down at his lap, "The woman in the flower shop told me all that."

Artie's mother had suggested getting flowers and she hadn't thought he was going to take her seriously. The woman in the flower shop had been helpful, if not a little pushy. She convinced him to get all the flowers with their different meanings, throwing a couple of roses when she convinced him to tell her that they were for a girl.

He smiled and adjusted his glasses as she put the flowers with the rest of the arrangements so they couldn't get ruined or forgotten. She would make sure that this particular bouquet would end up in her room. Maybe she'd get out an old book and press them so she could always have them.

"Listen," he said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, "After this, do you maybe wanna come over to my house and watch a movie or something?"

She nodded. She got behind his chair and started pushing him toward the front row, where her family was sitting. She made her way to the chair on the end of the outside aisle, so his chair wouldn't get in the way, and put him so he was on a slight angle so they were facing each other a bit. It felt…right, pushing his chair and talking to him again, like being back where she belonged.

Today was a day of closure, for so many things in Tina's life. When someone dies, there's usually that process of grief turning into acceptance, and that will happen in due time. This will not be taken lightly, because it just can't be. But she's a teenager, it will happen more quickly for her. She has glee club and her friends, things to distract, things to focus on. She has eleven friends that will help her whenever things get to be too much.

She has the rest of her life to focus on right now. She'll be taking the SATs soon and applying to college. In two years, she'll probably be out of her parents house, if things go the way she wants. And she probably won't be in Lima anymore either. She is destined for bigger things.

And are those things with Artie? She doesn't know. She doesn't know what's going to happen in the next minute, the next hour, the next year. She could see it rain frogs or have another family member die or get pregnant by immaculate conception. Anything is possible.

She had spent the last few months trapped by her family and by her lies and now was really the first time she could breath easily about her situation in so long. It seemed like things were started to get better.  
As the service started, Artie reached over and slipped his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers.

She looked over at him and he smiled as his thumb began a pattern of slow circles across the back of her hand.

The pastor cleared his throat and said, _"Although the world is full of suffering, it also full of overcoming it."_


End file.
